The present invention relates to a current generation circuit, and a bandgap reference circuit and a semiconductor device including the same. For example, the present invention relates to a current generation circuit suitable for generating an accurate current, and a bandgap reference circuit and a semiconductor device including the aforementioned current generation circuit and suitable for continuously outputting a constant reference voltage irrespective of their temperature.
A bandgap reference circuit is required to continuously output a constant reference voltage irrespective of its temperature. A technique relating to a bandgap reference circuit is disclosed in H. Neuteboom, B. M. J. Kup, and M. Janssens, “A DSP-based hearing instrument IC”, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 32, pp. 1790-1806, November 1997.
The bandgap reference circuit disclosed in H. Neuteboom, B. M. J. Kup, and M. Janssens, “A DSP-based hearing instrument IC”, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 32, pp. 1790-1806, November 1997 generates a constant reference voltage irrespective of its temperature by giving positive temperature dependence to a current flowing through a current path formed by two bipolar transistors, an operational amplifier, and a resistive element, and feeding a current in proportion to the aforementioned current through a bipolar transistor in which the voltage between its base and emitter has negative temperature dependence.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2011-198093 and No. 2011-81517 disclose a technique for reducing errors in a reference voltage caused by the offset voltage of an operational amplifier.